Silver Award Girl Scout, Winter
After-school activities are a wonderful way for Maine’s youth to get
involved in their communities, that’s why when Winter noticed a lack
of participation in post-class gatherings—specifically ones geared
towards the performing arts—she took action. Winter contacted her
dance instructor to learn more about the various reasons that
activities such as dance are often neglected by school-aged children
and that’s when she discovered that financial barriers in her
community played a massive role in the issue.
Winter
faced the problem head-on, creating a free, after-school dance camp
for K-2 students put on by herself and her local dance studio.
Participants in the camp got to learn three different genres of dance:
jazz, ballet, and hip hop, from some incredible instructors.
Throughout the experience, Winter gained priceless experience from her
instructors on new dance steps, how to create a dance class outline,
and how to lead a warmup.
In order to increase
accessibility and reach, Winter utilized her school guidance counselor
to offer information on the camp to families both from within and
outside her immediate community. Over the course of the camp, Winter
not only taught the campers some fun new moves, but important aspects
of healthy living as well such as proper stretching techniques and how
to feel confident as a performer. At the end of the camp, the campers
held a recital for family and friends to attend. Attendees were
pleasantly surprised at the newfound skills displayed by the young
dancers. Although Winter’s project came to an end, she created an
outline so that the dance camp can continue to run smoothly during the
summer months too.
“I learned how to take on a big
project, I think that this will help me when I enter high school where
there will be projects that take months like this one,” said Winter.
